Sylvia's First Pokemon
by Sylvia Viridian
Summary: A beginning trainer-with many stories to come!-starts on her pokemon journey, a few years before Ash.
1. The first step

A Journey Story  
  
"Hurry up!" I called up the stairs to my sister, "I'm leaving in one minute, with or without you!" And if I left without her, it would serve her right. She always insisted on coming with me, but then she would take forever to get ready. I checked my watch. "Time's up!" I yelled, opening the front door. I left quickly, closing it behind me before she could come downstairs and beg me to wait. If she did that, mom would make me take her along, because she's three years younger than me.  
  
I hurried away from the house, being careful not to slip on the leaves that had fallen from the trees that lined the road. Today was a very special day, and I didn't want her messing it up. Once I was out of sight of the house, I relaxed. I was actually very excited. Today I would begin my journey, following the dream I'd held in my heart ever since I could talk. Now I was finally old enough to begin my quest! I ran the rest of the way to the professor's lab.  
  
"Hiya, Professor Ivy!" I said as I ran through the doors, "Are they here yet? Are they?"  
  
She smiled. "No, Sylvia, they're not here yet. I'm sure Professor Oak will send them as soon as he can. He's a very busy-and forgetful-man. In the meantime, can you run down to the city for me? The mart has a package for me, but this experiment needs constant observation. Maybe when you get back, they'll have arrived."  
  
"Okay! Back in a flash!" I dashed out the door. I hoped Professor Oak sent those pokemon soon! I already knew which one I wanted. I wanted Bulbasaur for my first pokemon. I loved grass types like Bulbasaur. I thought about all the adventures I would have when I finally got one. I was so deep into my daydream that I didn't even notice the flock of Spearow until I practically ran into it. "Aack! Hey, get out of here! Go on!" I swatted at them, and finally chased them off. The Spearow in that area were particularly vicious, always picking on defenseless pokemon. Now that they were gone, I saw their victim. It was an Oddish, a grass type like Bulbasaur. Its round, blue body was badly bruised, and the leaves on top of its head looked wilted. "Uh-oh! Looks like those Spearow got you pretty good! I'll get you to the pokemon center right away!" I picked it up and started running toward Viridian City.  
  
I ran into the pokemon center doors, realized that the sign said "Pull", grabbed the handles, and pulled them open. Once inside, I ran up to the desk, behind which sat a nurse. I stood there panting for a moment, too winded to say a word. The nurse took notice.  
  
"Is that your pokemon? You should never let it battle that long! Don't you know any better? You ought to be ashamed of yourself!" She immediately began admonishing me.  
  
"But.," I said, unable to get a word in edgewise.  
  
"Oh, well, there's no time to lose. I'll get it into the emergency room right away!" She pressed a button on the desk, and a Chansey nurse came out, wheeling a stretcher. She put the Oddish on the stretcher, and they wheeled it off through a set of double doors marked "Emergency Room". I waited for a couple minutes, and she came back out. "Your Oddish will be fine. It wasn't as badly hurt as it looked."  
  
"Actually, miss, that's what I wanted to talk to you about. It's not my Oddish. I found it like that, after chasing a flock of Spearow off of it. I was just running an errand for Professor Ivy."  
  
"Oh. I'm sorry I yelled at you like that. It's just that I see so many irresponsible trainers come through here, with their pokemon in such awful condition. Some of them leave the pokemon here and never come back. So, naturally, I thought you were one of them." Her cheeks turned a little pink with embarrassment.  
  
"Aw, it's okay. Anyway, I gotta go pick up Professor Ivy's package. See you later!" I waved goodbye and left. Soon I was on my way back to the lab. I kept on thinking about that Oddish. I was glad it would be all right. It was awfully cute. I wouldn't mind having an Oddish for my first pokemon.  
  
Soon, I was back at the lab. I rushed in through the huge double doors. "I'm back!" I said, running over to the professor's desk. "Here's your package. Are they here yet?"  
  
"Thank you, Sylvia. And no, they're not here just yet. If they don't come soon, I'm going to call Professor Oak and remind him. Now, then, as long as you're here, I might as well give you this now." She opened the box, and took out an odd red computer-thingamajig. "Professor Oak designed these a few years ago, and has been giving them out to Pallet's beginning trainers ever since. I had him send a shipment here, so I could give them out to trainers starting out in this area." She opened it up and showed me the inside. It had a screen, and a whole lot of buttons below it. "It's called a Pokedex. You point it at a pokemon, and it identifies that pokemon for you, as long as it's a known species. It also serves as identification. I'll program your name and some information about you into this one. Do you want me to demonstrate how it identifies pokemon for you?"  
  
"Sure! I'd probably mess it up otherwise."  
  
"All right, then, what should I test it on? I know, I'll test it on that Oddish beside you." She did a double take. So did I. "Um, Sylvia, why is there an Oddish beside you?"  
  
"Oops! Looks like I left the door open a little bit. It must have gotten in that way." I said, slightly chagrined and very surprised. It looked like the one I had rescued.  
  
"I didn't ask how, I asked why. Wild pokemon don't usually come in through open doors unless there's food inside. There is no pokemon food anywhere near you." She looked closer at the Oddish, trying to figure out where it had come from.  
  
"Oh, right. Well, it looks like the one I rescued." I told her the story of what had happened on my way to get her package. "And so I think it followed me here. It is awfully cute."  
  
"Well, Sylvia, it seems that your first pokemon has chosen you. Oddish is a strong grass-type, and while it's irregular for someone to start out with anything other than Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle, it's certainly not unheard of. For example, Professor Oak often gives his favorite trainers an Eevee to start with, rather than one of the usual three."  
  
"So I'll start with Oddish! Cool!" I picked it up and hugged it. "You're sure a lot cuter than a Bulbasaur! We'll be great friends!"  
  
"Oddish Odd!" it replied happily.  
  
"So, anyway, here's your Pokedex, and a few Pokeballs to start with. You'd better go back home and tell your mom that you're leaving." She handed me the Pokedex and six Pokeballs.  
  
"Thanks a whole bunch, Professor! I'll call often and check in with you!" I put Oddish on my shoulder, left, and started running down the road. Then suddenly I had a thought. "Hey, Oddish, if you're my pokemon now, you'll need a Pokeball. Here you go." I set Oddish down and put a Pokeball in front of it. "You get inside by pressing the button on the front."  
  
"Oddish Odd?" It looked at the small red and white sphere. It touched the button, and the Pokeball expanded, becoming a somewhat larger red and white sphere. "Odd!" it said, surprised. It touched the button again, and it was sucked inside. The button turned red. I was about to pick it up, when all of a sudden it burst open, and there was Oddish, grimacing and shaking. "Odd!" it exclaimed.  
  
"SOME POKEMON DISLIKE POKEBALLS, BECAUSE THEY DISLIKE BEING CONFINED." my Pokedex piped up from inside my pocket.  
  
"Oh, okay. You don't have to get in, then. I'll take you home and show you to my mom and my little sister, Aquatica." Suddenly, I remembered the scene at home when I left, and groaned. "Oh, no. I forgot. She's going to be furious that I left without her." I smiled at Oddish. "Oh, well. At least I can start my journey soon. We'll beat all eight gym leaders in record time, won't we, Oddish?"  
  
"Oddish Odd!" it replied happily.  
  
The End  
  
Oh, yeah, I don't own anything-period!-so please don't bother suing me for anything, because you won't get it! 


	2. A friendly battle and a badge!

Sylvia's Pokémon Journey  
  
Ch. 2  
  
I walked swiftly down the path which led to Pewter City, carrying Oddish. I was glad to have finally gotten away from my little sister and my mother, who had been yelling at me for not taking her when I got my first pokémon and fawning over her baby who was all grown up and leaving home, respectively. I loved them both, but sometimes they were incredibly annoying. Even more annoying than those two dumb little kids in Pallet Town, Ash and Gary, both five years old and neither one with a shred of common sense. They would be my sister's age in a couple of years, and by then I wanted to be far away, where I wouldn't have to baby-sit either of them again.  
  
As my house disappeared behind a hill, however, my relief at having gotten away turned to joy as I realized that I had finally started on the road to being a pokémon master! I'd start with Brock's dad, head for Cerulean, and then.who knows? I could be headed for Indigo plateau in a few months! Sylvia Viridian, from Viridian City (my family was descended from the city's founder), soon to be the world's greatest pokémon master, had finally begun her pokémon quest!  
  
I was so proud and happy that I didn't see Brock coming up the road in front of me, and I almost ran right into him. Brock had been my best friend for years, ever since we met when we were five. Sometimes I helped him and his dad take care of his brothers and sisters.  
  
"Whoops! Sorry, Brock," I said, sidestepping just in time to avoid a collision, "I didn't see you coming."  
  
"No, that was my fault. I wasn't looking wh- hey, you're carrying an Oddish!" he replied, sounding very surprised.  
  
"Really?" I said dryly, "I had no idea."  
  
"Ok, let me rephrase that. Why are you carrying an Oddish?"  
  
"Because it got tired walking, and it doesn't like pokeballs," I replied, grinning cheerfully.  
  
"That's not what I meant."  
  
"I know." I grinned even more broadly.  
  
"Since when are you a trainer, too?"  
  
"Since this morning. What do you mean, 'too'?"  
  
"I got my trainer's license yesterday. Wanna see my pokémon?" He didn't wait for an answer. "Go, Geodude!" he shouted, throwing a pokeball. The pokeball opened when it hit the ground, and a rock-like pokémon with two long, thin arms and large, craggy hands appeared.  
  
"Geo-dude!" it exclaimed. Its voice was, well, gravelly.  
  
"Cool!" I said, setting Oddish down, "I'll challenge you to a match, if you want."  
  
"Aw, beat me to it. Gimme your best shot!"  
  
I complied. "Oddish, use your, umm," I checked my Pokedex, "Absorb attack!"  
  
"Ordish ord!" it replied, powering up.  
  
"Geodude, tackle, now!" Brock said.  
  
"Geo-dude!" It began moving toward Oddish.  
  
But Oddish attacked first. Geodude began to glow green around the edges, and the green energy flowed over to Oddish. Geodude slowed, then stopped and collapsed weakly on the ground.  
  
"Uh-oh," Brock said, "Geodude, return!" He held out the pokeball, and Geodude turned into energy and flowed back inside.  
  
"All right! Great job, Oddish!" I exclaimed, scooping it up into my arms and hugging it.  
  
"Orddish!" it replied happily.  
  
I turned to Brock. "I hope Oddish didn't hurt your Geodude too badly."  
  
"Naw, it'll be fine. I'll take it to the pokémon center in a minute," he said, then put on a fake-formal tone of voice, "But first, it is my solemn duty to give you this." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small gray pin, handing it to me.  
  
"Umm, Brock," I blurted out, confused, "this is a Boulderbadge." Then realization dawned like the end of a daydream. "You mean."  
  
"Yup!" he said proudly, "Pewter City has a new gym leader - me!"  
  
"That is so cool!" I cried. "But.what happened to your dad?"  
  
He looked down at the ground. "That's a good question," he said bitterly, "He told me to look after my siblings and left. It's been a week now, and no news. I was kinda lookin' forward to starting my pokémon journey, but I couldn't find anyone else to mind the gym, so it looks like I'll be stayin' here for a while."  
  
"Oh, Brock, I'm so sorry! I didn't realize.I knew he was never around much any more, but.You should have called me!"  
  
"No, you're right, it's not that different. We've been on our own for a while now and it's been okay. I mean, Dad.he never really recovered after." He looked away for a moment.  
  
I could take a hint. I knew it was true that Brock's dad had never been the same after his wife had died. Brock never talked about it, but I knew that it still hurt him to think about her death, especially since he had to help his siblings deal with it. He had been forced to take care of them, because his dad couldn't, and at an age when most kids are playing with action figures, he had had to manage most of the affairs of the family. And now he didn't have even the token support of his father.  
  
"Sooo.I guess you'd better take Geodude to the pokémon center, huh?" I said, just to break the silence.  
  
He snapped out of his thoughts. "Oh, right. So, I guess I'll see you around, right?"  
  
"Not for much longer. I'm heading for the gym in Cerulean soon."  
  
"Oh, okay. Well, then. I guess I'll see ya when I see ya!"  
  
"Yup, guess so. Bye!  
  
"Bye!"  
  
So he went one way and I went the other, one step closer to my goal of being the world's greatest pokémon master!  
  
The End (for now, at least:)) 


End file.
